Rivercrest work near done

There's plenty of activity in this pit at the north end of Rivercrest Crescent in St. Albert on Thursday. The work is progressing with the hope of this part of the project being completed next week. The road is expected to remain closed to traffic for several weeks.

It may be the third week of September before the St. Albert Centre transit terminal can return to Rivercrest Crescent.

The transit terminal and crescent were expected to reopen Aug. 25, but removal of more than 12,000 cubic metres of contaminated soil has delayed the project. The soil, from a former service station site, was discovered when the road was excavated during Project 9 major trunk sewer line installation in the area.

Larry Galye, city senior project manager of capital projects, anticipates the transit terminal and traffic lanes will reopen by the “second to third week of September.” Until then, transit users will have to continue to use the transit terminal at its temporary location along Muir Drive.

Galye said there is still a fair amount of work left. As of Thursday there was one section of pipe still to be connected, with concrete to be poured around a new manhole, plus the roadway repairs including sidewalks and curbs. It’s a combination of filling in what’s needed underground plus asphalt and concrete on the ground, including rehabilitation work to be accomplished on the bus pads.

Under the original timeline, Rivercrest Crescent was expected to open last week but that was pushed back when the contamination was discovered. While the amount of material was nothing to balk at, it was dealt with easily enough. The chemical analysis said that it was Class 2 non-hazardous material, meaning it was not as bad as it could have been.

The volume of the contaminated soil (estimated between 12,000 and 15,000 cubic metres) was removed and taken to the dump.

“It’s a big scoop. We were going 3.5 metres deep by 2 metres wide and we had about 100 metres to go. Roseridge at Morinville accepts Class 2 material. We had to submit all of the chemical analysis to Roseridge, Roseridge reviewed it, and they accepted the materials. We pay an extra tipping fee for disposing of it. What they do then is spread it, farm it. Once the air gets to it, it slowly biodegrades and then they use it for fill on their site,” Galye said.

The work on Rivercrest Crescent is part of a major sewer line installation that is intended to add sewer capacity to support growth in South Riel, the area west of Ray Gibbon Drive and lands north of McKenney Avenue and in downtown St. Albert.

The $40-million Project 9 sewer project involves installation of pipe from St. Vital Avenue west of St. Albert Trail, along Rivercrest Crescent, under the Sturgeon River and along Sturgeon Road to the Alberta Capital Region Wastewater Commission pump station by St. Albert Botanic Park. The pipe is being installed seven to ten metres below ground, largely through micro-tunnelling.

Scott Hayes: Scott Hayes joined the St. Albert Gazette in 2008. Scott writes about the arts, entertainment, movies, culture, community groups, and charities. He also writes general news, features, columns and profiles on people.